Denying that the coming review meet on corruption a result of ‘Aam Aadmi Party’ effect, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said his government had been waging war against graft since the beginning. Kumar will on January 15 review corruption cases across the state at a meeting, to be attended by Chief Secretary, Secretaries of all departments besides the District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, to know steps taken against graft and status of pending cases.

“I do not wish to comment on others but my government has from the beginning launched a decisive battle against corruption and initiated a number of steps like confiscation of properties of the corrupt officials and declaration of properties – ranging from CM and ministers to officials right from Chief Secretary down to clerk,” he said. There had not been any AAP effect, the CM asserted.

Kumar said the January 15 meeting is just part on an ongoing battle against corruption as part of which a number of officials have fallen in the net of vigilance and economic offence wings. The CM, talking to media after emerging from ‘Janata ke darbar mein Mukhya Mantri’ programme, said as part of commitment to launch an offensive against corruption, the state set up a special vigilance unit and strengthened economic offence wing of the police.

Giving details, he said the state ordered for time-bound trial of cases of corruption. According to latest figures, a total of 21 cases of property attachments of officials and those of supporters of Maoists have been done so far. Kumar said that the state government does not “blindly” rely on the information provided by the officials annually about their income but verify if “something has been hidden”.

In such cases there has been provision of registering Disproportionate Asset (DA) case against defaulting officials and also their dismissal from the service on the charge of “misconduct”, the CM said. He said zero tolerance towards corruption was one of the important pledges he had made to the voters in 2010 Assembly elections along with increasing electricity availability.